Roy Barnes(American Politician)

Roy Eugene Barnes was the governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from January 1999 until January 2003. He is a member of the United States Democratic Party.

Barnes was born in Mableton, now a suburb just west of Atlanta. He first became successful in politics in 1974, when he was elected to the Georgia state Senate. He served there from 1975 until 1990, when he ran in the Democratic primary for governor of Georgia. He was defeated by Zell Miller, who later won the election and became an ally of Barnes. Barnes returned to politics in 1992, serving in the Georgia state House of Representatives until 1998, when he ran for governor again, this time winning the Democratic primary. Barnes defeated then-Secretary of State Lewis Massey to win the Democratic Primary. He defeated Republican businessman Guy Millner 53%-44% in the General Election. The Democrats retained control of both houses of the legislature and retained all but two state level offices . Pushing education reform, Barnes focused on a smaller teacher-pupil ratio and more accountability by raising academic standards. He also supported legislation that guaranteed patients the right to choose their physicians and helped pass legislation that allowed insurance companies to be held liable for denying or delaying health care for individuals. Barnes successfully pushed for tax cuts on family farms and established a sales tax holiday for Georgia.